Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Season 1, Volume 2 (Uncensored)

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All Rise...

Judge David Johnson wrote this entire review in questions only. No, he didn't actually. That would be stupid.

The Charge

Bzzzzzzzt.

The Case

With a buzzer, some goofy props and a way too exuberant audience, volume two
of the first season of ABC's version of Whose Line is it Anyway jumps and
flops and comically gyrates onto DVD.

If ABC Family or Comedy Central is part of your cable package, you've no
doubt stumbled upon this series during your late-night channel surfing. Whose
Line is an improv show that forces comedians to make fools of themselves in
a live audience. The show was birthed in England and imported across the pond.
Carry-over performers from the Brit predecessor include mainstays Colin Mochrie,
Wayne Brady and the omnipresent Ryan Stiles. Drew Carey hosts.

Shows consist of a series of games designed to elicit as much comic mayhem
as possible. Some of the regularly-used games are "Questions Only,"
"Song Styles," "Party Quirks," "Let's make a
Date," "Weird Newscasters," and my
favorite—"Hoedown." For the American translation, some custom
games were added, which were usually more drawn out and lot less funnier than
the classics.

And while I find a fair amount of good times to be had with these episodes
and there are a handful of brilliant moments, I still think the British version
is superior. I think the show works best with shorter games like "Scenes
from a Hat" and "World's Worst," allowing for fresh, rapid-fire
routines. These segments are present in the American series, but appear
sporadically in different episodes. British shows were packed tighter with bits
and as such sported more laughs per capita than its Yankee counterpart. Drew and
company have the talent but too much time is wasted with long-running, mediocre
games.

More annoying than the occasional flatlining improv is the studio audience.
These folks are just too into it, vomiting forth ecstatic laughter at every
little thing. Hey, I'm all for having a good time and yukking it up with your
friends, but the show's producers must be pumping nitrous oxides into the studio
HVAC system. And God help us all if Wayne Brady does a James Brown impression;
the ladies in the audience will climax on the spot.

Volume Two brings 10 more episodes to the party, all varying in comedic
punch, though each is at least marginally entertaining. Brady, Mochrie and
Stiles are the three regulars, buttressed by appearances of Brad Sherwood, Greg
Proops and even Stephen Colbert. As the series progresses, the shows do get
punchier and tweaks like the audience-generated sound effects games are
hilarious. I anticipate those releases, but hope that forthcoming seasons aren't
staggered as they were for season one. With only a few deleted scenes for extras
on each disc, I'm unsure of the purpose of splitting the first season into
volumes. The audio and video is purely serviceable—full frame and 2.0
stereo all the way.

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